Irish swimmers gearing up for World Championships

Dubliner Barry Murphy has received a surprise call up to the Irish squad for the upcoming World Swimming Championships which will take place in Barcelona at the end of July.

The 27-year-old, who competed at the London Olympics last year, failed to make the A qualification standard required in either the men’s 200 metres breaststroke or the 50 metres freestyle, his favoured events.

However, Swim Ireland has selected Murphy to compete at the World Championships based on his 50m breaststroke time.

Only freestyle was included in the consideration standards for the 50 metre events, replicating the Olympic Games qualification events.

However Swim Ireland, on a recommendation from the National Performance Director, has decided to select Murphy on his time of 27.53 in the 50m breaststroke from the Irish Nationals in April which was below the FINA A Standard and ranks him 10th in the World this year for this event.

Murphy will travel to Rome for 13-16 June to compete at the Sette Colli International in preparation for the World Championships.

Chris Bryan, Fiona Doyle, Sycerika McMahon and Murphy will all represent Ireland at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Barcelona Spain from the 20 July – 4 August.

Bryan will be the first of the Irish to compete when he swims the 10K Open Water event on the 22 July.

Bryan has showed good form so far this season with a win at the Portuguese Open Water Championships earlier this month. In preparation for the World Championships, the 22-year-old based at Swim Ireland’s Performance Centre in Limerick, will compete in a test event in Barcelona on 14 June before he travels to Kazan, Russia for the World University Games on the 17 July.

Canada-based Fiona Doyle has also shown good form in recent months. She has broken both the 100m and 200m Irish senior breaststroke records so far in 2013.

Swimming for the University of Calgary at the Mel Zajac International Meet in Vancouver in May, Doyle finished second to London Olympian Tera Van Beilan in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke.

The 21-year-old Limerick swimmer has also qualified for the World University Games in Russia in July.

European silver medallist Sycerika McMahon made the qualification time for the World’s during the London 2012 Olympic Games when she swam 2:14.76 in the 200m individual medley. Following the World Championships, McMahon will take up a swimming scholarship at Texas A&M.